On 5/2/2026 at 3:16 PM, DirtySox said:

Not sure if anyone has listened to the White Sox Draft Preview from Joe Doyle at Over-Slot featuring @Y2Jimmy0 but it was excellent. Some bullet points below.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/ep-218-white-sox-156806449

• Joe Doyle notes that he feels the general fan-base is super jaded regarding the White Sox ability to develop talent. Disagrees with that notion, particularly on the hitting portion. Getz has only been pulling the trigger at the top of the draft for 2 seasons now. Points at Bonemer, thinks he will be in AA this season, perhaps the Bigs in late 2027. Also points towards Antonacci, the early returns on Carlson and Fauske. Thinks Shirley and Getz deserve more credit than they have been given.

• Calls the system well balanced from a positional standpoint, but lacking a bit in the outfield and at catcher. Thinks they might start working some of the IF guys into the OF. Especially if Roch is the pick. Also suggests the possibility of putting Colson into a corner OF spot. Save some wear and tear on him, especially the back.

• Talks about the propensity of taking high upside prep position players with 2nd and 3rd round picks. Notes Landon Thome as a name that comes up often. Suggests he might be a 2B or corner OF.

• Talks pick 1.1. Thinks 75% to 85% Roch Cholowsky. Doesn't think he's a generational player. Thinks he can be franchise changing. A la Danby Swanson. Path to several 4.5 to 5 WAR seasons. Think's he's a .270 hitter that runs into 25 homers a season that plays some gold glove defense. Not a dynamic runner, doesn't have game-breaking power. Thinks White Sox fans expectations of Roch are too high. A very very good player, but not a player that's going to single handedly carry the White Sox to the promised land.

• Puts Grady Emerson odds at 15%. If the White Sox don't think the team is going to compete until 2028, he could make sense. Left handed, perhaps more power, but less value defensively. More volatility but possibly a higher ceiling? Joe think's it's getting too cute though. Why run the risk of Grady putting it all together when the floor of Roch is so high.

• Haven't heard the Sox on Lackey much. Notes there are scouts think he's the best player in the class. Wonders if he could potentially play CF if you have Teel as your long term answer at C.

• Says the Sox are quite high on Jacob Lombard. Thinks you can't dismiss the swing and miss in his game from last summer though, and it's far too much risk to take on with 1.1.

• James notes that if you grade Emerson out higher than Roch and you save some money, he's fine with it. But to him how much higher does that ceiling have to be to not just the take floor that Roch offers immediately? Says there are some folks in the front office that would take Grady if up to them. Some big proponents. But if you are Chris Getz and you are pressured to win soon, and you have an owner that wants a quick mover, a marketing team that wants a quick mover, you have to factor that into the selection process.

• They come back to the Dansby comp. If you were offered 24 FWAR over 6.5 controllable years from the 1.1 pick, would you take that?

• James suggests Bregman as a possible Roch comp. (If Bregman could play SS.)

• James said he would be absolutely stunned if the pick isn't Roch or Grady.

• James gets into some of the possibilities for picks 41 and 77. He personally loves the prep pitching that might be available. Doesn't love Thome at 41. Thinks they can do better with the amount of money they have. Do you go really heavy at 41 with money or play it straight and spread out the bonuses more evenly?

• Doyle keeps coming back to Dominic Santerelli as a Shirley type. Says he makes a ton of sense. Also says to circle the name Noah Wilson. Could be the best runner in the class.

• Joe thinks the Thome family will be telling everyone Landon is a 4.5 million ask, but internally the Sox would know he's more a 2.5 million player.

These comments are a bit sad to see. He still thinks he will be a great player but he’s right that many fans are expecting generational talent.

Keith Law mock 1.0. 👀

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7255697/2026/05/07/mlb-mock-draft-2026-grady-emerson-chicago-white-sox/

It’s never too early for a mock draft — scratch that, it’s almost always too early for a mock draft, but I can only kick that particular can down the road for so long. The 2026 MLB Draft will begin on July 11, right here in my backyard, but don’t worry, we have plenty of space. Or it’s somewhere in Philadelphia.

This year’s draft class has turned out to be a lot weaker up top than expected. Yes, there is depth, especially in high school pitching, and some of the high school bats who’ll go in the 20-40 range (or get paid like it) are interesting, but overall, the first round is kind of meh. It’s not close to 2023, which looked incredible at the time and has held up, or 2024, which looked fair at the time, definitely not amazing, but has already churned out a deserving Rookie of the Year (Nick Kurtz), the No. 1 prospect this winter (Konnor Griffin), playoff star Trey Yesavage and much more. Seven of the first nine picks from 2024 are in the majors already.

1 - Grady Emerson - White Sox

School: Fort Worth Christian (North Richland Hills, Texas), Bats: L, Throws: R

I keep hearing that the White Sox are leaning towards the two main prep shortstops, Emerson and Jacob Lombard, although I can’t rule out that this is posturing to try to get a better deal with Roch Cholowsky, the putative top prospect in the class. Emerson at No. 1 makes sense if you think he’s the next Kevin McGonigle — a very advanced hitter from a small high school whose value rests heavily on the hit tool. Emerson’s a better shortstop right now than McGonigle was as a senior, while McGonigle had more power. Lombard, meanwhile, would be a bet on upside; he might have the best overall tools on the high school side, but his hit tool is a huge question mark.

2 - Roch Cholowsky - Rays

School: UCLA, Bats: R, Throws: R

Assuming the White Sox go with a high schooler, the Rays would have a choice between Cholowsky and Vahn Lackey, the Georgia Tech catcher, and I assume they’d take the safer option in Cholowsky, who was the consensus 1-1 pick coming into the spring and has performed about as well as he did last year. I don’t think either would be a bad choice, and Rays fans know they could use a franchise prospect at either position.

3 - Vahn Lackey - Twins

School: Georgia Tech, Bats: R, Throws: R

The Twins have drafted in the top five twice in the last decade and went high school both times; they might be Grady Emerson’s soft floor, but I don’t think they’d go for Jacob Lombard or any other prep name if Emerson’s gone. Lackey is the best player available in this scenario with the strong hit tool that the Twins value higher than most clubs.

4 - Jackson Flora - Giants

School: UC Santa Barbara, Bats: R, Throws: R

Flora is the top pitching prospect in the class, college or high school, and the Giants have gone college in the first round seven times in eight years, with Bryce Eldridge as the exception (and a good one). I’d be shocked if Roch Cholowsky or Vahn Lackey got past them, in a scenario where Flora or a surprise name goes ahead of this pick. Just spitballing, but they seem like they could roll the dice on Justin Lebron, who otherwise I don’t think is going up here as his contact rate has dropped in conference play.

5 - Eric Booth Jr. - Pirates

School: Oak Grove HS (Hattiesburg, Miss.), Bats: L, Throws: L

The Pirates’ last three first-round picks: Paul Skenes (2023), Konnor Griffin (2024) and Seth Hernandez (2025); the first two are already in the majors and the third is currently dominating Low A in his pro debut. They did lose scouting director Justin Horowitz to the Nationals, where he’s now an assistant GM, but I expect them to stick with the same approach in the draft, targeting high-upside players like Booth who give the team the chance for superstars they won’t get as free agents. I do think they’d take any of the three college guys who I have going 2-3-4.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by DirtySox

We’re taking Roch, and that’s all there is to it.

Via Keith Law's chat today.

Andy M.

If the White Sox take Cholowsky 1-1 would they be happy with a Dansby Swanson career arc? He's been one of the better players from the draft class, but seems disappointing for a 1-1 guy.

Keith Law

@Andy M. 1-1 does yield a lot of superstars, so I get that, but you have to be satisfied with a Swanson outcome. It's okay to get less than you hoped, as long as you got something of value up there - a utility infielder would be a disappointing, a ten-year starter is not.

Todd B.

You're the first mock drafter not to have Cholowosky 1-1 in this cycle, dating back to last summer. Do you view Emerson/Lombard over Cholowosky a mistake?

Keith Law

@Todd B. "mistake" is a very strong word. I wouldn't take either HS bat over the top 3 college players. I also have Lombard a good bit lower than Emerson.

As for being the first mock drafter ... mock drafts a year out are a farce. There's a reason I don't do them: it's just making stuff up.

Brett L.

Have not been to up to date with college baseball this year, but can you explain how Roch Cholowsky went from being a no doubt first overall pick/one of the best prospects of the decade to now falling down draft boards? His numbers are not mind blowing but UCLA is still 44-4.

Keith Law

@Brett L. He hasn't fallen down any draft boards. He's still #1 on my board, and as I've asked scouts/execs i haven't heard him falling at all. Maybe he's #2 on some boards, but he's not falling.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7259107/2026/05/07/mlb-draft-live-chat-keith-law/

First Pipeline mock.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/mlb-pipeline-2026-mock-draft-may-7?t=mlb-draft-coverage

1. White Sox: Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (No. 1)

After entering 2026 as the strongest preseason favorite to go No. 1 since Adley Rutschmann in 2019, Cholowsky has held serve this spring. That doesn't make Roch a lock, however. He's a better defender and has succeeded at a higher level than Emerson, though the latter is a superior prospect at the same stage of their careers and most clubs believe he offers more upside. The vibe right now is 55-60 percent the White Sox take Cholowsky versus 40-45 percent they opt for Emerson, though don't rule out a discount deal for Lombard.

Lombard would be such a scary pick to make. Dude could be the best player in the draft when all is said and done, or he might never make it out of A ball.

19 minutes ago, DirtySox said:

First Pipeline mock.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/mlb-pipeline-2026-mock-draft-may-7?t=mlb-draft-coverage

Lombard would be such a scary pick to make. Dude could be the best player in the draft when all is said and done, or he might never make it out of A ball.

His dad was a great athlete but that mlb failure hangs over him.

Would have been a better UGA running back.

Does anyone take McGonigle/Wetherholt (the players they are now, as of today) over Roch ?

Over Emerson?

Definitely would be 50/50 on McGonigle…Wetherholt less value at 2B.